Colgate Saves Water, Builds Business and Slows GHG Emissions

This brand's unlikely journey to saving millions of metric tons of greenhouse gas all started withsome toothpaste at the Super Bowl.So let's start there.

Global CPG giant Colgate surprised the world during Super Bowl 50 with a TV spotthat didn't promotetoothpaste or mouthwash. Instead, it informed viewers about the impact of wasted water when the tap is left on while brushing our teeth. The powerful creative and its simple conservation message resonated far beyond football fans to national news media and the American public at-large. An extended spike in sales after the big game ledColgate to an authentic-to-categorysustainability strategy that increased positive brand regard, grew product sales, saved water and even reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Colgate "Save Water" campaign took shape after that 2016 Super Bowl spot and the wave of media attention and social media buzz. The next year, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps signed on as the effort's global ambassador and a natural spokesperson for saving water. For year three, in 2018, BCW had to maintain momentum going byuncoveringfresh data around the impact, new storylines for 24-7 media andtap into breakthroughtechnologies to stay cutting-edge.